It seems that the last time servicing RWD Sportage front bearings came up on this forum was in 2007, and the real question was never addressed.

My wife's '01 RWD Sportage ate the front wheel bearings at about 80,000 miles. At that time, I discovered that the bearings were aftermarket replacements, so it had obviously eaten both front sets of bearings before she purchased it with about 38,000 miles on it. Now with 103,000 miles on it, I have been unable to keep them from working loose constantly. Maybe I could get it right if I had the proper torque spec for the spindle nut, and could also replace the mangled nuts, but the Kia Tech Info site doesn't bother to address front wheel bearings for rear wheel drive Sportages.

Does anyone here know anything about the non-4X4 versions of these things? Even the dealer service department can't seem to answer the question of a bearing pre-load torque specification for this thing, much less sell me the nuts or the proper bearings for a 2WD version.

That's a decent example of how to adjust wheel bearings on some of the old Detroit iron, and I appreciate Galf taking the time to post it, but it does not seem to apply to a Sportage. That method is how I've tried adjusting the bearings time and time again. What works for something like a '77 Monte Carlo clearly isn't working for a Sportage. What I need is a bearing pre-load torque value. Doing it by feel is just resulting in wrecked bearings over and over again. I know that there are some cars for which the detailed method is inappropriate, and the factory service manual specifically states a torque value and run-out measurement - My Mercedes Benz is one of them, and doing it by feel will result in destroyed bearings every time - The Sportage is apparently another one of these cars.

Also, this still doesn't address the problem I am having even getting the nuts from the dealership. All they can find parts for are the 4X4 version. The RWD version is completely different. Different bearings, different seal, different everything. I was never even successful purchasing the bearings and races from the dealership, and had to order them from Carquest instead. Unfortunately, CarQuest does not list the nuts or even the dust seals in their parts lookup.

Please, if you have a RWD 4 door 1G Sportage and know anything about the front wheel bearings, I could sure use some help. I'd even be happy to know what dealership might have serviced your front wheel bearings and not screwed them all up. At least then I might be able to call that place and get an answer. My local places are all useless.

I have a 2wd sportage and had simialar issues with my wheel bearings. The part #s are different from the 4wd but many parts stores can get them. The spindle nut doesnt have a torque spec. The hub is supposed to have something like 18 inch/lbs of resistance when turning, and you are supposed to use some sort of spring scale to measure resistance. Screw that, heres what I did. Knowing that the end goal was to have as little play in the bearings as possible without overtightening them, I repacked The bearings and lubed the spindle and rear dust seal. Make sure the rear dust seal is pushed in all the way, its supposed to be flush with the back of the hub. To tighten the spindle nut I used needle nose pliers in the two outer slots of the nut using hand pressure to tighten. If you use a socket on the spindle nut you will overtighten the bearings. Tighten the spindle nut until no play in the bearings can be felt and there is a slight drag when turning the hub. I cant stress enough that only hand pressure is needed to get the spindle nut tight. Use a flathead screwdriver and hammer to stake the spindle nut to keep it from coming loose and you are done.

Now we just need a good DIY write-up of how to replace the seals and bearings... That'd be SWEET! DIY write-up with PN's of bearings and seals... Someone get on that because I'm having a hell of a time doing it!

18 in/lb of resistance while turning? I have to tools to do that! Thank you for providing a number! Going by feel has resulted in failure several times.

Now, if I can get this pile to stop honking the horn like the alarm is going off while driving around, I might be able to coax a few thousand more miles out of it before the transmission explodes.

Forgive me, but I am less than enamoured with 1G Sportages after dealing with this one for the past few years. Thank you for the help, even if I do still want to set this thing on fire and roll it off a cliff.

It seems that the last time servicing RWD Sportage front bearings came up on this forum was in 2007, and the real question was never addressed.

My wife's '01 RWD Sportage ate the front wheel bearings at about 80,000 miles. At that time, I discovered that the bearings were aftermarket replacements, so it had obviously eaten both front sets of bearings before she purchased it with about 38,000 miles on it. Now with 103,000 miles on it, I have been unable to keep them from working loose constantly. Maybe I could get it right if I had the proper torque spec for the spindle nut, and could also replace the mangled nuts, but the Kia Tech Info site doesn't bother to address front wheel bearings for rear wheel drive Sportages.

Does anyone here know anything about the non-4X4 versions of these things? Even the dealer service department can't seem to answer the question of a bearing pre-load torque specification for this thing, much less sell me the nuts or the proper bearings for a 2WD version.

I have just found that information in a KIA technical service bulletin (number TT060033-007, date 06/01/2000, title Drivetrain - Wheel Bearing Adjustment). It says to seat the bearings tightening their adjusting nut at 12 lb-ft while rotating the wheel, then loosen the nut one full turn, and then retighten at hand tight. If the holes don't line up with the lock plate, loosen the nut just enough to make them line up. This information is valid for the front wheel bearings, for both 4WD and 2WD models.

Galf...thanks for steering me here, don't know why I didn't see it when I searched. But he is right very little on RWD's, even the cd manual and on line reference only show the 4wd's. All the info on 4wd's had me scared to even attempt to grease my front bearings with all the talk of special tools that only KIA techs have. I think those posts came from KIA service dept trolls to get you to bring the car in. lol lol Once I got over my initial shock of not finding any cotter pins I am fine with it now and will try to adust them as the last post explains. Then I have to tackle changing plugs and wires, another KIA adventure

I followed the instructions on the "Timken" site.
I had the right one tight, and wasn't really sure about the left one, too loose maybe.
"Timken" says .001 to .006 play in wheel bearings, which is about 1/6 turn to 1/4 turn off the nut when backing off.
Since the had already been mounted, and tightened prior to this readjustment I went old school. I also replaced the the bearings, and race's on the right although it may have gone longer on the parts it had, but side by side you could see the old race was slightly thinner than the new one.
"Timken" says to tightened while turning the hub until you start to feel resistance. Then back the nut off 1/6 to 1/4 turn. Too keep it close to tolerances I backed the ring thing off 1/6 to 1/8 turn, and then put new dents in the ring nut, or what ever it's called.
I drove the Sportage, and it felt good as opposed to the right one being tight, and the left one set correctly, but felt loose.
Hand tight sounds good too. The bearings actually supports the weight of the vehicle, and I think the grease will give you the .001 free play. Maybe I'll have the socket next time, and just grab it and turn it tight. The right one was not giving me any problem, but I knock the ring thing around to the tighter notch instead of backing it off over 1/4 turn.
The "Timken" tip page also gives directions for the 2 different ways to do wheels bearings, which sounds like the Kia manuals way.